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Hard Drive DOA?

I am trying to re-install Windows XP professional on a new hard drive on my home-made PC (ASUS A8V mobo). I purchased a new Seagate Barracuda 7200.12, 500 GB SATA drive with the intent of installing it in the PC and then using the original Seagate 160 GB drive in an external enclosure for back-up data storage. I can't get past the Windows set up screen which advises that "Set up did not find any hard disk drives installed in your computer". Here's what I have tried:

- I do have a floppy drive, so during the set up, I do hit F6 and load the SATA controller drivers (VIASRAID) with apparent success. No luck in the PC recognizing the hard drive.

- I have checked the physical connections to the new hard drive repeatedly and they're definitely OK. After each failed attempt, I take out the new HD and replace the old HD and everything runs as normal so I know the power and data connections are good.

- I have tried changing the BIOS to disable the SATA boot ROM setting. I've attempted the set up with this setting both enabled and disabled. No luck.

No, it doesn't show up in the BIOS.
Update: I downloaded the Seatools (DOS version) program and ran that. The drive does not even show up there. Clearly, this one is dead. I'm returning it for a replacement.
Thanks for your help.

FWIW: SATA support in the BIOS must be enabled for SATA drives, no need to fool with SATA drivers. Asus boards typically are set up so that SATA drives can be seen by the native SATA controller. Your board has native SATA II support.

I would have simply decided to attach said drive to a different system very briefly...before deciding it's the drive and not some setting in the BIOS that you have changed, although the SeaTools diagnostic should be definitive (since it does not recognize the drive).

Update: I received a replacement drive from the vendor but still seem to have the same problem. Seatools (DOS version) does not recognize the new drive at all. So, I reconnect the old hard drive in the PC, put the new drive in an external enclosure and tried to get Windows to recognize the new drive. When I connect the external drive to the PC via the eSATA cable, each time my PC freezes until I disconnect the cable. HOWEVER, when I connect using the USB cable (external enclosure has both SATA & USB interface), then I can get Windows to see the drive (albeit as an external mass storage device). I can hear it spin up and can get Windows to do a quick format, etc. As soon as I go back to connecting the new drive via SATA (whether in the external enclosure on inside the PC), the system just can't see it.

Please, can anyone tell me why my PC which currently has an SATA hard drive won't recognize the new SATA drive.